Just One Look
by Alarni
Summary: When Bella moves to Seattle, she has her sites set on a bartending job at Eclipse. What she hadn't signed up for though, was the heady, electric drama of the club scene. Or the intense green gaze of a collegue who seems to know her better than she does.


**They say actions speak louder than words, and that the eyes are the windows to the soul.  
>In theory then, what can't be said with just one look?<strong>

Looks were deceiving, or so I'd always told myself. Never judge something from its appearance, because I could guarantee you that, eventually, you'd find something you didn't expect lurking below the surface. Something that would shock you.

The weathered brick and large black doors of the building that lead out onto the uneven footpath was a classic example of my theory. I knew there was much more to this windowless, discrete building that sat on an even more discrete street than one would expect. If you walked past it of a day, and didn't know its true nature, it was a place you'd expect to find the homeless or addicted squatting in. Pass it of a night, and well, it was a different story entirely.

To people in the know of Seattle's underground pub and club scene, this place was known as Eclipse. For those not in the know, it would be described as one of the hottest clubs around.

After a quick, furtive glance around me that would have looked suspicious as hell, I pulled my coat tighter around my body and made my way to the alley alongside the building. Even after living in Seattle for almost a month, I still hadn't adjusted to the difference in temperature from Arizona and this rainy city.

Go to the back of the club, and find the red door. It's down the far end of the wall. I'll leave a key up on the eve for you. Help yourself inside. I'll be waiting in the office for you. Those were the instructions I'd been given. How I was going to find my way to the office once inside would be the real test.

Dodging puddles and trying to stay out of the wind, I eventually came to the door. Just like promised, the key was there. Once inside and out of the damp air, I tried my best to tidy up for the meeting. Not being the kind of girl to carry a mirror around in my bag with me, I simply had to pray my small amount of make-up still looked like it did half an hour ago when I'd put it on. As for my hair, well, with the kind of wind it had been subjected to this morning, I knew the long, dark strands were sure to have many knots, and be extremely frizzy. Heels clacking loudly in the long hallway I was walking down, my hands nervously patted down my hair.

Hair and looks were forgotten however when I exited the hallway and found myself standing on the edge of the dance floor of the club. Alice and Rosalie, my two best friends who I was currently living with, had brought me to this club the night after my arrival in the city. I'd fallen in love with the location, the atmosphere and simply the layout of the place. I hadn't realised just how huge the inside was though.

The shuffling of feet behind me caused me to turn back towards the hall I'd just exited. Two men were walking towards me, and I couldn't help comparing them to each other. Both were tall, but that was where the similarities finished. Lean and solid compared to broad and built, wavy blonde to curly black, and a stern brow to an easy grin. Almost opposite, though obviously friends.

"Um, excuse me?"

Both started at hearing my voice, neither having realised they were being watched. Their eyes flashed over to me, both obviously confused as to what in the world I was doing there.

Icy blue to warm brown.

"Yes miss? What can we help you with?" The blonde's voice matched my characterisation of him. Polite, precise, yet almost stern. I was suddenly reminded of my second grade teacher, though he hadn't been nearly as good looking. With a peculiar sense that I was irritating him with my unexpected presence, I matched his tone.

"The manager's office. Where can I find it?"

Warm Eyes chuckled. "Over there, Doe-eyes." He pointed to a place over my left shoulder. "Hidden behind the bar."

_Doe-eyes. _No-one but my father had ever called me that, and that was a long time ago. Smiling graciously, if not with a curious expression in my eyes, I thanked them both. Over the click of my heels, I heard them muttering to each other. Neither of them could figure out who I was, though I did hear the blonde muse, "She's not Edward's type though."

Just as Warm Eyes had said, there was a hidden door set into the wall around the side of the bar. A plaque proclaiming it to be the 'Manager's Office' made my stomach ball up tightly.

Light knock on the door. A loud, but bored sounding "Come in". Deep breath, pat down hair, set determine yet polite expression over features. I could handle this. Turning the knob and opening the door slowly, I stepped into the light office.

The interior of the room was at war with the dark decor in the rest of the club. Decorated in light blues, greens and whites, with a comfy looking couch and fashionable furniture, it was a welcome relief.

It was only when he turned his chair around to face me that I really noticed him. A shock of bronze hair in disarray upon his head, broad shoulders and a crooked smile pulling up perfect lips. He was gorgeous, but what completed it all were his shocking green eyes.

I watched as those eyes took in my face, then dropped down, then down further, and then made an agonisingly slow trip back up to my own. Why did I suddenly feel naked?

He stood up and held his hand out to me, and I was taken aback by just how tall he was. I only came up to his chest.

"I'm Edward Cullen," his hand engulfed my own as he spoke. "And you must be…?"

"Bella," I choked out as I looked up at him. When his grin widened, I mentally slapped myself. _Get a grip_. Pulling my hand out of his, I finished. "Swan. Bella Swan. I called the other day."

"Right, of course." He sat back down in the chair behind the desk, gesturing for me to sit opposite him.

Sit down slowly and keep your back straight. You're not intimidated.

"I'm here to see about the bar tending position that's available here."

Understanding flashed in his emerald eyes and he clasped his fingers under his chin, his elbows resting on the solid wood of the desk. "Alright then, Bella." A shiver as he spoke my name. "Let's talk about your qualifications."

"Qualifications. Right." His intense green gaze put me on edge, and I had the most peculiar feeling that within the next thirty seconds, depending on my response, he would decide whether he really liked me or really didn't. No pressure. "Well," I said in response to his raised eyebrow, "I started where every good bartender starts, at high school parties. From there on I worked part time at our local in Phoenix when I wasn't at University."

His bored eyes watched me fidget as he grinned. What kind of manager was this guy?

"Listen, my list of jobs isn't long, okay?" I said haughtily, clenching my jaw. "But that's only because I've never been fired from one. I'm never late, I stay on task, I get along with most customers. I'm not worried about getting dirty, and I don't complain. I'm a damn good mixer and I can read lips, so it doesn't matter how loud your music is played, the customers will still get the orders they want."I sat back, satisfied and put on a hard expression. So much for good first impressions.

Edward studied me for a few more moments, a serious look on his face. When I raised an eyebrow, his grin broke out again. Slapping his hands on his desk and making me jump, he stretched his hand out for me to shake again. When our hands connected for the second time, I knew I wasn't imagining anything. Was it just me, or was the air really electrically charged today. Maybe it was just me. Or him.

Giving Edward a cautious look, I asked, "So?"

"As far as I'm concerned Miss Swan, you've got the job." He chuckled lowly to himself as I exhaled a breath I hadn't realised I had been holding. A grin started to spread across my face, but dropped at his next words. "But, I do have a confession to make."

A slow anxious ball started to knot in my stomach, growing even tighter as he shot me what I had now come to realize as his customary crooked smirk. "I'm not exactly the—"

The door to the office was thrown open, cutting him off, and a huge, russet skinned man struggled through, juggling boxes and a briefcase, as well as a jacket. I was far too shocked to try and help him, and Edward hardly flinched at his entrance.

"Edward," the hulk of a guy barked out in a deep voice. "What have I told you about bringing those girls of yours into my office? Do we need to have another talk?" The guy dropped the boxes down onto the carpet beside the desk and wrestled with his jacket. "Emmett and Jasper said there was a brunette headed in here not too long ago."

Finally freeing himself of his coat and setting both it and his case down on what I now assumed was _his _desk, he turned to us, an annoyed expression set on his face. "Honestly though, I thought you preferred blondes." Upon seeing Edward and me clearly for the first time, and looking a little shocked that, most likely, both of us were fully clothed, he stopped. I realized quickly that Edward and I were still clasping hands and quickly dropped mine back to my side. Edward laughed lightly. Walking over to the other guy, he patted him on the shoulder a few times.

"No, this one's here to see you for a change, Jake."

Jake seemed to look at me properly for the first time, and after taking in my heels, skirt and jacket, he gave an embarrassed sigh. "Miss Isabella Swan I presume?"

"I prefer Bella," I chuckled self-consciously. Edward was still watching me with that look of his, and there was something about his expression that made me feel incredibly exposed. "And I assume that _you _are the manager of this club?"

"Yes," Jake replied curtly, casting an irritated glance in Edward's direction.

"Hey, I never did actually say I was the manager." Again, he was smirking. "But, if I were, and you really should take my input on this to heart, I would hire her right now." He continued to prattle off basically everything I'd said to him about my 'qualifications', and I was genuinely surprised he'd listened to any of it, let alone stored it to memory. Jake sat there and tried to look annoyed at him, but I still managed to detect a fondness between the two that was almost brotherly.

Once he was finished, Jake stood up and offered his hand to me. When I took it, it felt normal. No weird spark or fiery tingle there. Maybe all that odd electricity had escaped the room when he'd opened the door.

"When can you start?"

"Tonight."

"Excellent," Edward joined in, throwing his hands up in there air and giving us both a toothy grin. "That means you're with me, and I get to show you all the ropes." Jake gave me a sympathetic look. "This is going to be fun."

Very promptly after that, Edward left the room, a devilishly excited air about him that simply spelled trouble. Turning to Jake, I swallowed. "Any tips on how to deal with him?"

A sad smile and shake of the head had me groaning. "Don't worry, he's not normally this exuberant. Once he's on the floor when shift starts he focuses right up. He just likes tormenting the new staff; see how much they can take before they snap at him. He has odd ways of judging peoples characters, that's all."

He walked around the desk and leant back in front of me, folding his arms over his chest loosely. Giving me a lazy grin, he laughed. "I can just tell you're going to make his job hard for him, Bella." And with that, he stood up and walked to the door. I wasn't sure if he meant Edward's job of breaking me, or just his bartending job in general. And I didn't know if it was a complement or something else entirely.

"Wait," I said just as he was about to turn the handle. "When do I start?"

"Like you said," Jake threw over his shoulder, dark brown eyes sparkling. "Tonight. Talk to Edward, he'll tell you everything you need to know." And just like that he was gone.

"Oh my god," I sighed as I dropped down into the chair in front of the desk. "That was exhausting." Who would have ever thought that a simple job interview for a bartending position could be so confusing and intimidating and downright stressful. But, "I got the job."

"I got the job." I said it again, testing it out and finding that I liked the sound of it. I laughed to myself, rubbing my hands down my flushed cheeks.

"You sure did," a voice said from right behind me, making me jump.

"Jesus, Edward!" My cry was too loud in the almost empty office, and he laughed at my reaction. It struck me again just how attractive he was. It was just the muscles or the lips of the eyes, but something else as well. Something in the way he held himself, and how he normally clenched his jaw, only sometimes relaxing it. He came across as a consequences-be-damned, sarcastic guy, but there was something about him that oozed self-control and power. I had the feeling that there was a lot more to Edward than most would think.

I looked up and my eyes locked with his and I knew I'd been caught looking. Instead of casting my eyes down like I normally would have though, I stared defiantly back at him.

I don't know how long we sat there, but as we stared at each other, my breathing became shallow and my chest began to rise and fall much more quickly. I noticed smugly that his was doing it to. His eyes seemed to search mine, staring straight through them. They didn't get far though. Over the years I'd built up walls, like everybody does. Some I let down for certain people, but only willingly. Mine were too strong for even the most curious and determined of people. He soon hit the first one and realised this.

_What are you looking for? _My eyes asked him, curious in spite of myself. This boy was trouble, I could tell that already.

_I don't know yet. But I will. _

I nodded. I understood.

"You'll need jeans." His voice broke through the mounting silence and intensity, and I had to blink a couple of times to get my bearings.

"What?"

"For tonight's shift. It may be a Monday, our slowest night, but it can still get pretty busy."

Reality caught up with me and I soon remembered that I'd just been hired as a bartender at _Eclipse_. From what I'd seen the other night when I'd come here, I'd definitely be needing jeans. It had been wild.

"I have another outfit in my car. I'm all set. Don't worry."

He cracked a smile. "A bit presumptuous don't you think?"

I smiled and stood up, walking towards him as I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder. He'd taken up the same position Jake had, and while he was leaning back, and with me in my heels, we were nearly eye to eye. "Oh, but Edward," I cooed as I placed a hand against his chest. His eyes went just a little wider, glancing at my hand, and I pouted my lips. "With my kind of qualifications, what kind of doubt was there really?" I shot him my own smirk and turn away, letting my hand trail down is chest. Intending to go back out to my car to retrieve my other clothes so we could get down to business, I grinned. Excitement had started to bubble up in me.

"Be ready in ten minutes," he called as I reached the door. "I'll be waiting for you behind the bar."

I nodded without looking at him and opened the door. I was nearly home free when he called me back, and I stiffened as I heard the smirk in his smooth voice.

"Oh, and Bella?" Peering back into the office, I noticed what he was wearing for the first time. Looking up at me from rolling up the sleeves of his black dress shirt, he gave me a panty-dropping smile that made my knees weak. "I actually prefer brunettes."

* * *

><p><strong>Read and review guys. Honestly, what are your thoughts?<br>Much love,  
>Alarni. <strong>


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